Four Texas Men Indicted For Pouncing on Homosexual Targets Via Grindr

Four Texas men were accused of hate crimes on Wednesday, after they purportedly used Grindr, a dating app designed for homosexual men, to pounce on targets, according to a federal grand jury indictment.

Cameron Ajiduah, 18, Anthony Shelton, 19, Chancler Encalade, 20, and Nigel Garrett, 21, face charges of hate crimes, hijacking, and possession of a weapon and they will face a sentence of life in prison if they are proven guilty in the attacks that took place in Dallas suburbs.

The crimes carried out by the accused

The four men purportedly created an account on Grindr, pretended to be a homosexual man and arranged to meet at the victims’ houses. However, the lone homosexual man turns out to be a group of four men that attacks the targets at their house. Not only do the four men abuse the target, but also they restrain them and make “derogatory statements” about their sexuality, according to the court documents. It has been found that criminals were armed during home invasions, knocked over property and carjacked, court documents said.

The charge was preferred by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Texas and the Dallas Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The ATF, Plano Police Department and Frisco Police Department carried out the investigation.

Statement

Jeanne Rubin, president of the North Texas Gay and Lesbian Alliance, told CBS Dallas she was sure that the federal grand jury took crimes seriously.

“You can be scared as a homeowner if your neighbor is robbed,” she said, “but it’s different if you feel like you’re being targeted for some reason and in this case, a whole community can feel like they’re targeted.”

Four home invasions took place in all the suburbs of Dallas, including in Plano, Frisco and Aubrey, between January 17 and February 7.